As former President Donald Trump sits in criminal court racking up criminal contempt of court orders, the world gets a sordid view into the behind-the-scenes behavior of the former president.
We shouldn’t be shocked; we have seen the pattern of his toxic abhorrent behavior toward women before.
As the Access Hollywood tape released in October 2016 revealed, Trump brags on video of “grabbing women by the pussy” and just kissing them without consent, saying they “let you do it” when you are a star. The immediate fallout from that revelation resulted in a singular acknowledgement of wrongdoing along with an apology.
Julia Goldie Day
We now know the apology came as he was on the cusp of being asked to resign as the Republican Party candidate. The damage control was surprisingly effective, and excuses for locker room talk ensued. This was just “guy talk.” But more than a dozen women came forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault, including E. Jean Carroll.
The current criminal trial has revealed the Trump Organization allegedly sought to cover up reporting on an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels by allocating campaign funds to save his candidacy as president. It’s not hard to conjecture fallout if further evidence of infidelity with consent and power dynamic issues were reported, with a porn star no less. Not just talk.
No amount of campaign messaging could spin the lack of respect for women’s bodies and personhood.
Even more important for Republican voters, no messaging could spin the debasement of the almighty family values of the evangelical Christian.
But this news didn’t stay hidden forever. We now have heard in court transcripts salacious details shared by Stormy Daniels under oath.
Not only that, Trump’s longtime “fixer” Michael Cohen testified that Trump indicated his lack of concern for his wife learning of these details. If she dumped him, he wouldn’t be on the market long, he suggested. Meaning women are dispensable.
“Notably missing from the New York courtroom are the women.”
Notably missing from the New York courtroom are the women — the third wife and daughter of the former president, Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump. The women who formerly surrounded Trump, like Hope Hicks and Cassidy Hutchinson, no longer support him. Nikki Haley finally spoke out against Trump as she ran against him in the primaries and will not support him as the Republican candidate for president this year.
The only women who now seem to support Trump are cliques, extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert, and sycophants like Kristi Noem or Laura Trump.
Now that we have seen what the former president will do for or to women while in office, we should be further convinced he isn’t safe for women or others with less power.
Trump pushed through Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court even as Kavanaugh whined and portrayed himself as the victim after also being credibly accused of sexual assault. Kavanaugh now sits on the highest court of the land making decisions about women’s bodies and Trump’s immunity claims.
Trump nominated three judges, including Kavanaugh, who either lied or misled the public in their confirmation hearings about their intent to overturn established precedent on abortion law in Roe v. Wade. Trump has bragged profusely about his key role in the federal abortion ban and even believes states might need to prosecute women who seek them.
Ironically, it was revealed by Stormy Daniels that Trump allegedly had sex with her without taking steps to prevent pregnancy. He was married at the time to his current wife, Melania Trump, and his son Baron was an infant.
No one thinks Donald Trump believes the abortion ban applies to him.
“Why are we willing to vote for a candidate who wants to regulate the actions of others but isn’t able or willing to manage his own?”
Why are we willing to vote for a candidate who wants to regulate the actions of others but isn’t able or willing to manage his own?
Trump ran against a woman, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in 2016. She pointed out in a presidential debate his abhorrent views on women, saying he had called women pigs and dogs. In another debate, Trump attacked the female moderator saying she had blood coming from her eyes, or somewhere else, seemingly without consequence.
I have to wonder if he was elected to the presidency of the United States of America primarily because he ran against a woman.
Is our country that sick? We would rather elect this clearly immoral, misogynist abuser, and possibly criminal person, rather than a woman?
Of course, it’s not that simple. This isn’t truly a problem just about women, is it? This is only one symptom of banality. Anyone who uses people in the way Donald Trump uses people doesn’t seek to uphold the values of the Christian faith or the agency of each individual person created in the image of God. People are means to an end. His god is Donald Trump.
As Americans, we are charged to vote our conscience, with our values influencing our choices. We now know more clearly than ever how we have been lied to about Donald Trump and by Donald Trump. We have much more information to tell us what we should have learned already: This is not a moral person, nor someone who is trustworthy or fit to hold the office of president. Twice impeached as president, found liable for financial fraud, found to have defamed and assaulted a woman in civil court, and currently being tried in criminal court for numerous crimes while a candidate for president and as president.
Decency should guide us. There are not enough laws to protect us from corrupt politicians if we ourselves are corrupt. If our values are suspect, we can no longer be ruled by the people, and democracy fails. We cannot hold our leaders accountable if we do not believe in following the rules we ourselves have created.
As a woman, I will not cast a vote for any candidate who treats any person the way Donald Trump treats others. As a woman, I call for believers to reclaim the common values we share — faith in God and love of neighbor. If we the people dutifully choose our presidents based on core values upholding the rule of law, holding even presidents accountable, party aside, we move democracy forward toward a more perfect union.
We are not there yet; democracy is a hoped-for ideal. Ultimately, this ideal of freedom only works if each of us shows up and does our part. Women and others with less power are watching.
Julia Goldie Day is an ordained minister within the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and lives in Memphis, Tenn. She is a painter and proud mother to Jasper, Barak and Jillian. Learn more at her website or follow her on socials @JuliaGoldieDay.
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